A 2025 survey conducted by SOCAN and Pollara found that 81% of Canadians believe supporting local music creators is essential to the future of Canadian culture. SOCAN says it has mobilized a national campaign that generated 8,700 letters to government urging policymakers to block any exception that would allow unlicensed use of music for AI training purposes.
Source: Canada’s SOCAN warns AI is ‘placing mounting pressure’ on livelihoods
High-profile sales haven’t ceased; Miranda Lambert recently sold her catalog to Sony Music Publishing (plus Domain Capital), and the Quincy Jones estate partnered with HarbourView, for instance. Meanwhile, Warner Music’s poised to announce some presumably huge purchases, and DMN’s picked up on a couple noteworthy transactions that should soon receive public announcements. But in general, growing list of IP-heavy company buyouts aside, smaller-scale purchases are taking center stage.
Source: As Blockbuster Catalog Sales Slow, Dealmaking Volume Holds Steady
Paramount is turning to artificial intelligence at one of the most consequential points in the filmmaking process: deciding what gets made. According to reporting in Bloomberg, the studio has begun testing AI-driven tools designed to assist with script evaluation and early-stage project analysis, as executives look for ways to manage rising costs and increasing uncertainty around audience demand. The tools are not being positioned as replacements for creative judgment.
Source: Paramount Tests AI Tools in Development as Cost Pressures Mount
The EU’s framework for collective licensing rests on Extended Collective Licensing, or ECL. Under ECL, a CMO is authorized by law to license works on behalf of all rightsholders in a given category — even those who never signed up. The idea is elegant: one blanket license, one payment stream, universal coverage. The trouble starts with what happens after the money is collected.
Source: The Licensing Mirage: Why Collective Models Won’t Save the Visual Industry from AI
More than 1,000 writers, actors and directors released a letter on Monday opposing Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying the deal would harm Hollywood’s already distressed entertainment industry. The letter warns that merging two of Hollywood’s major studios will result in “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
Source: Hollywood Heavyweights Sign Letter Opposing Paramount’s Deal for Warner Bros.
Through RoyFi, TuneCore launched TuneCore Direct Advance, which lets artists apply for upfront financing in exchange for a flat fee. Repayment is drawn from future royalty earnings, according to a press release on Wednesday (April 8). Artists can secure direct cash advances without giving up equity or transferring ownership of copyrights, said TuneCore.
Source: TuneCore partners with RoyFi to offer royalty advances to indie artists
The report found that Twitter drove little traffic to most news sites, generating only around 1.5% of most publishers’ traffic. But, the authors wrote, “Twitter excels at both conversational and breaking news…Though Twitter may not be a huge overall source of traffic to news websites relative to Facebook and Google, it serves a unique place in the link economy. News really does ‘start’ on Twitter.”
Source: Do links hurt news publishers on Twitter? Our analysis suggests yes
On Patreon, podcasts have become the largest content category in terms of revenue and they’ve continued their upward trajectory, says chief operating officer Paige Fitzgerald. “Podcasts are a resonant medium,” she says. “They work well for multihyphenate creators who want to leverage several types of media formats to connect with their fans.”
Source: Patreon Says Podcasters Earned $629 Million in 2025, Platform’s Biggest Content Category
Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery — a merger that would unite Paramount’s century-old IP library with HBO, CNN and Warners’ global television assets — is being powered by $24 billion from Gulf sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The Saudis backing the Warner Bros. deal represents more than just another international investor taking a financial stake in Hollywood. For Riyadh, the deal offers the House of Saud proximity to American media power — and, potentially, to the political ecosystem that surrounds it.
Source: Inside Saudi Arabia’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Hollywood
The Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the billion-dollar Cox Communications verdict also makes an appearance in the long-running legal battle between Yout.com and the RIAA. The streamripper’s counsel argues that the ruling’s treatment of noninfringing uses is relevant to its case against the RIAA. The music group disagrees, suggesting that it is not relevant.
Source: Yout.com Hopes Supreme Court’s Cox Ruling Helps Its Case; RIAA Disagrees